Desperate employers and universities have proposed new coronavirus quarantine schemes as they ‘beg’ the federal government to let more foreign workers and students into the country.
A chronic shortage of farm workers – due to coronavirus border controls keeping out backpackers – has cost farmers millions of dollars as fruit and veg goes to waste without being picked.
Hospitality businesses such as pubs and restaurants are also struggling to hire as Australia’s unemployment rate dips to 5.6 per cent and is expected to fall even further as the economy recovers from last year’s lockdowns.
Meanwhile, the university sector remains crippled as international students – which provide up to 40 per cent of a university’s revenue – are prevented from entering the country.
The quarantine schemes proposed by businesses, universities and state governments include building new quarantine camps and using dedicated quarantine hotels and even student accommodation to house foreigners for 14 days.
Use worker camps
With the demand for international workers growing, the Northern Territory Farmers Association and the Hospitality NT have come up with a radical plan.
They have urged the Commonwealth and NT government to retask the Bladin Point Worker Village as a Covid-19 quarantine facility.
The facility is currently used to quarantine Marines arriving in the NT with the US Rotational Force Darwin but the Australian Defence Force’s lease expires on July 15.
the Northern Territory Farmers Association and the Hospitality NT want the government to use Bladin Point Worker Village (pictured) as a Covid-19 quarantine facility
Employer groups say the camp could help alleviate the critical national worker shortage faced by the agricultural and hospitality sectors.
But NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles says Bladin Point isn’t a government facility and bringing it up to specification could be tough.
‘It’s a private property… we don’t control who comes into Australia and we don’t own that facility, and who would pay for it,’ she said.
Ms Fyles said it was ‘hugely’ expensive to run a quarantine facility and it would need to be run at the same high standard as the nearby Howard Springs quarantine facility.
Any proposal would also need the Commonwealth’s backing and consider the potential impact on the local health system, she said.
NT Farmers chief executive Paul Burke has previously said industry is struggling to find suitable facilities to quarantine overseas workers.
‘Farmers around the country are begging politicians for a solution to the massive seasonal workforce shortage that has arisen due to the Covid-19 border closures last year,’ he said.
But NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles says Bladin Point (pictured) isn’t a government facility and bringing it up to specification could be tough
‘Without additional workers, farmers will be forced to let produce go to waste and food prices will rise for all Australians.’
Under the proposal, various industries from around Australia will be able to use the facility to quarantine their own workers.
The agricultural industry alone is facing a shortage of 20,000 workers, Mr Burke said.
Build new facilities
The Queensland government, which has a system of on-farm quarantine for foreign agriculture workers, has been campaigning for a quarantine facility near Toowoomba that needs Commonwealth approval for international flights to land at the nearby Wellcamp airport.
The Wagner Corporation wants to build the quarantine facility that would host up to 1,000 travellers and 300 staff – but the federal government has refused to approve it without a detailed costings plan.
A Victorian facility (pictured is an artist’s impression) would be built from scratch in Mickleham and operated by the state government, under a state proposal
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, like WA leader Mark McGowan, has also asked the Commonwealth to use immigration detention facilities such as Christmas Island – but the federal government has refused.
Scott Morrison is assessing a Victorian proposal to construct a purpose-built quarantine facility at a Commonwealth site about 40km north of Melbourne.
The 500-bed facility would cost about $200 million to build, with the state government committing $15m to get the project ready for construction.
The Prime Minister said the ‘detailed and comprehensive’ proposal is currently under review.
Dedicated hotels for foreigners
Last week the Victorian government also proposed a plan to let international students, actors and other foreign workers do quarantine in a dedicated hotel in Melbourne.
Under the plan, which is yet to be approved by the federal government, the state will begin accepting up to 120 international students and other ‘economic cohorts’ each week from May 24.
Those arrivals would not be included in Victoria’s weekly cap of 1,000 returned travellers and would be housed in a dedicated quarantine hotel, similar to the program for the Australian Open earlier in the year.
Users of the system, including universities, stage and screen productions, and major events groups, would foot the bill, which is ‘over and above’ the $3,000 hotel quarantine fee for returning Australian adults.
Meanwhile, the university sector remains crippled as international students – which provide up to 40 per cent of a university’s revenue – are prevented from entering the country
The state government has been in discussions with universities for months as the sector lobbied to fly about 1,000 foreign students into Melbourne every two to three weeks on chartered flights.
Despite the latest plan falling well short of that figure, acting premier James Merlino said Victorian universities supported the proposal.
‘The ball’s now in the federal government’s court. We have met all the criteria… and I’m very hopeful for a positive answer,’ Mr Merlino told reporters on Tuesday.
Victoria cannot proceed with the plan unless the Commonwealth government agrees to issue visas and exemptions, and count the arrivals outside its returned traveller cap.
If granted, the economic cohort would catch commercial flights where possible and be subject to the same stringent testing regime followed by other hotel quarantine guests.
A chronic shortage of farm workers – due to coronavirus border controls keeping out backpackers – has cost farmers millions of dollars as fruit and veg goes to waste without being picked
The Victorian government in March announced its rebooted hotel quarantine program would put aside 120 additional places for the group once it scaled up to 1120 returned travellers a week.
That figure was cut back to 1,000 after the federal government rejected the initial proposal.
About 34,300 Australians are still stranded overseas urgently wanting to return home.
Use student accommodation
In New South Wales, a committee of vice chancellors, has developed an International Student Accommodation Quarantine Program.
The plan would see 250 students fly in a fortnight and do quarantine in transformed student accommodation in the Sydney CBD.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said: ‘We are examining options and part of that is looking at how we can bring international students back without reducing our capacity to take Australian citizens wanting to return home.’
With AAP
